QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $8.32 Million Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 24.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 71,289 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 22,983 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Nucor were worth $8,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NUE. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 16.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 24,436 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,491 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in Nucor by 11.9% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 2,912 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its stake in Nucor by 15.2% during the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 2,797 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 1.4% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,467 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $822,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in shares of Nucor by 5.5% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 2,425 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NUE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $163.13.

Nucor Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of Nucor stock traded down $3.53 during trading on Monday, hitting $133.94. 3,207,588 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,755,623. The stock has a market cap of $31.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $126.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.51. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor's payout ratio is 26.16%.

Nucor Company Profile

Nucor Corporation engages in manufacture and sale of steel and steel products. It operates in three segments: steel mills, steel products, and raw materials. The Steel Mills segment produces hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized sheet steel products; plate steel products; wide-flange beams, beam blanks, and H-piling and sheet piling structural steel products; bar steel products, such as blooms, billets, concrete reinforcing and merchant bars, and engineered special bar quality products; and engages in the steel trading and rebar distribution businesses.